| FC St. Gallen deservedly qualified for European competition as Swiss Cup winners, but had to cope with a painful departure in the summer. Alessandro Vogt, arguably the club's greatest attacking talent, moved to Hoffenheim, leaving the Eastern Swiss side with a key weapon in attack. Enrico Maassen's team's preparation was anything but ideal. While there were some promising signs, they also suffered two clear defeats, against Lyon 3-6 and 0-3 against English Championship side Norwich City. For Benfica, qualifying for the Europa League feels like unfamiliar territory. The Portuguese side have been regulars in the Champions League for years, even reaching the playoffs last season, and now, after a rather disappointing previous season in the domestic leaguel, they have to even earn their place in the Europa League's league phase. On paper, Benfica are favourites as the quality and squad value clearly favor the traditional Portuguese club. While the Swiss side can likely count on the support of their home fans in the first leg, they are clear underdogs in this encounter. Marco Silva marks the beginning of a new era at Benfica. The Portuguese manager takes over from Jose Mourinho and brings high expectations to Lisbon after his successful years at Fulham. Silva was known for attractive, structured football in the Premier League and is now expected to lead Benfica back to the top of European football on a permanent basis. The club's management further underlined these ambitions in the transfer market, investing over 50€ million in new players. The signings of Sudakov and Kaminski, in particular, highlight the high aspirations of this club. Their preseason preparations have also been promising, 2-0 victory against Champions League participant Villarreal. |
